Shanghai Street View: Smoking Scoundrels

I had to smile to myself on reading the latest statistics about Shanghai’s ongoing crackdown on smoking in public places, which is showing generally positive trends. My smile was partly one of encouragement at the progress, but was more due to amazement at the relatively meager 1.5 million yuan in fines that Shanghai has issued for illegal smoking over the last 5 years.

That translates to just 300,000 yuan in fines for each of the last 5 years, which looks rather low for a city of Shanghai’s size, especially when one considers how common it is to see people smoking in forbidden places like office buildings, restaurants and shopping malls. On a daily basis the figure becomes even more miniscule, translating to just over 800 yuan in fines each day.
Before I begin with my look at the phenomenon of illegal smoking and efforts to combat the problem, I should first express my strong sympathies for the officials who have to enforce the ban. Smoking for most Chinese men was traditionally the equivalent of drinking a cup of coffee each morning for many westerners, and stopping such habits is not only difficult but can often seem unreasonable and unfair to the people affected.

But the reality is that smoking is far more dangerous than drinking coffee, and it’s also quite unpleasant for other people around the smoker. So the government has decided to follow global trends and curtail the practice in public places, at least in theory. But the reality isn’t quite so simple, and most of us can probably recount at least 5-10 instances each day where we encounter people smoking in places where it is clearly forbidden.

The latest city statistics look somewhat encouraging, saying the rate of illegal smoking in public places dropped 14.6 percent last year. The figures are based on regular policing of such places, with more than 1.8 million such checks conducted over the last 5 years. The report says the number of fines is going up steadily, but admits the total numbers are still quite low at only 770 establishments and 334 people fined over the last 5 years.

I’ll start by voicing my respect for the people who issue these fines, and add I personally would never want to do this job. That’s because this particular kind of work falls into the same category as subway safety inspectors and traffic assistants, who are often ignored by ordinary people even when they are just trying to do their job. What’s worse, many illegal smokers are likely to become indignant and even abusive towards a law enforcer and refuse to accept the fine.

I read a recent report on how subway safety inspectors often find their job degrading because they are routinely ignored and even abused by many passengers, leading to a high turnover rate for the job. I expect the same is true for illegal smoking enforcers, who must not only stop offenders but also get them to accept a fine for their behavior.

This kind of backlash contrasts sharply with similar smoking bans in the US, which date back to the mid- 1980s. I remember a time when smoking on US planes and in offices was quite common, and recall suffering silently during an internship in 1984 when I had to share an office with 2 heavy smokers.

But then local governments began rolling out a series of bans, and almost everyone complied without a major argument despite some initial complaints by smokers. Many building and restaurant owners were actually happy to enforce the bans, since their employees and non-smoking patrons enjoyed the cleaner working environment.

Here in Shanghai, I’ve noticed a distinct etiquette for where smokers will and won’t observe the ban. They generally won’t smoke in the subway or on other public transport, nor will they in big shopping malls or newer office buildings. But the men’s bathrooms in all of those venues are somehow exempt, and have become havens for illegal smoking even though it’s clearly banned there.

In the restaurant realm, it’s rare these days to find illegal smokers in most of the big chains, regardless of whether they’re foreign names like McDonald’s, or local ones like Dico’s fried chicken. But when it comes to smaller restaurants with individual owners, no one seems to observe the ban, and restaurant owners don’t seem to care.

At the end of the day, it should really be the job of restaurants, office buildings and other venues to enforce the smoking bans, which will ultimately benefit them for some of the reasons I’ve described above. Local government enforcement efforts are also helpful, but the small fines and tendency for confrontation means they’re less effective unless business owners do their part to support the movement.